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English Books To Read
No one book contains everything that is explored in Possibility Management trainings, but each book listed below investigates relevant related issues. Thoroughly reading a book builds matrix in your energetic body for holding more consciuosness. Read one book, get one matrix point! It's easy, fun, and educational. Forget about school. This is not school. School is over for you. So often a side-effect of having been forced through modern culture's school-machine is hating to read. Shift! Go! That time is over. Each of these books is a gateway into new capacities for you to love about yourself and to explore with others. The books are listed in alphabetical order by title. (Note from Clinton: my top 10 "crucial to read" choices right now 20 January 2014 include in no particular order the following books: 1. Creating ''by Robert Fritz, ''2. High Noon by J. F. Rischard 3. Daemon and Freedom (counts as one book) by Daniel Suarez (except for the sexual abuse part by the bad guy around page 57 of Daemon, but hey! He's a bad guy!), 4. Secrets of the Talking Jaguar and Long Life Honey In The Heart (counts as one book) by Martín Prechtel, 5. Of Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Patrice Somé, 6. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 7. Radical Honesty by Brad Blanton, 8. Original Wisdom by Robert Wolff, 9. Occupy World Street by Ross Jackson, 10. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.) All of these books are available in German except Creating, which Next Culture Press will publish in German for you just as soon as we can. Tribes ''by Seth Godin is also a great book but is not in German, and they haven't yet made a deal with Next Culture Press! ''1491: New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus (in deutsch Kolumbus' Erbe: Wie Menschen, Tiere, Pflanzen die Ozeane überquerten und die Welt von heute schufen) by Charles Mann. Most Western history books describe North and South America before Columbus arrived in 1492 as a vast, underused territory, sparsely populated by primitives whose cultures would bow before the advanced technologies of the Europeans. For decades, though, among the archaeologists, anthropologists, paleolinguists, and others whose discoveries Charles C. Mann brings together in 1491, different stories have been emerging. Among the revelations: the first Americans may not have come over the Bering land bridge around 12,000 B.C. but by boat along the Pacific coast 10 or even 20 thousand years earlier; the Americas were a far more urban and populated with bigger cities than Europe at the time, with healthier people, bigger trade routes, and more technologically advanced than white people assume; and the Indians, rather than living in static harmony with nature, radically engineered the landscape across the continents, to the point that even "timeless" natural features like the Amazon rainforest can be seen as products of human intervention. This is an important and totally eye-opening book. e.g. One linquist was compiling a dictionary of the language of the inhabitants of the horn of South America which consisted mostly of relationship words and verbs. It was still incomplete and contained more words than the English Oxford Dictionary of the time. The Alchemy Of Love And Sex (in deutsch Transformation von Liebe und Sexualität) by Lee Lozowick. Here are collected insights, secrets and practices for navigating the evolving dynamics of physical and energetic intimacies with your partner. The Alchemy Of Transformation (in deutsch Die Alchimie der Wandlung. Gespräche eines Baul-Meisters) by Lee Lozowick. From the Baul perspective, ongoing transformation is the way of life and love. Warning: Significant Box expansion. Aquarius Now (in deutsch Die sanfte Revolution: Gelebte Visionen für eine menschlichere Welt) by Marilyn Ferguson. What a genius of synthesis this woman was. "We have no enemy except ourselves and the mess we’ve made individually and collectively by refusing to look at what we’re doing to our bodies, our minds, our society, and the earth itself. We’ve been seduced by the cult of numbers, caught in a web of mindless materialism, obsessed with competition, with winning and losing, afraid of anything that can’t be seen or measured, and in the grip of an economic model where only that which generates more money is worth pursuing.” Back in 1982 Marilyn Ferguson's book Aquarian Conspiracy (in deutsch Die sanfte Verschwörung) changed my life. Maybe this one will change yours. I spoke with Marilyn on the phone several times before she died rather suspiciously in 2008 from a "heart attack." Autobiography Of A Yogi (in deutsch Autobiographie eines Yogi: Das Lebenszeugnis des großen indischen Meisters, der zum Mittler zwischen westlicher und östlicher Religiosität wurde) by Paramahansa Yogananda. This is a classic introduction to the Indian spiritual traditions written by one of the most respected practitioners. Many of the miracle stories he tells are unbelievable, yet, I think they are true. This is the handbook of the Self Realization Fellowship. Cat’s Cradle (in deutsch Katzenwiege, ''NOTE: this looks like it may be difficult to find in German, perhaps it is a candidate for publishing by Next Culture Press!) by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. This book is a little depressing, but not unrealistic. Here is where Vonnegut first introduces distinctions about cultural relativity, meaning your culture is no more real and valid than the culture of the people you are trying to belittle or eradicate. No wonder the Americans, Australians, Japanese, Chinese, etc. could thoughtlessly and arrogantly wipe out original inhabitants thinking, "Our culture is better than your culture if we can kill you." No wonder Hernando Cortez and the other Catholic Portuguese and Spanish Conquistadores rubbed small-pox puss into blankets and gave them generously as "vergiftet" gifts to the Incas, Aztecs, Mayans and other natives of the Americas, knowingly exterminating 93% of original populations. No wonder there could be Apartheid and racism and ongoing war between Jewish/American Christians and Moslems. We were not yet initiated into cultural relativity. Fortunately that is happening now... One of the characters in ''Cat's Cradle, Bokonon, is definitely a Possibility Manager. The book is full of useful models and new words, such as "grand falloon" and "karass" which have successfully entered next-culture vocabulary, to join words like "grok" from Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. Choice Theory (This seems to be not available in deutsch, and difficult to obtain in English. Even the book Reality Therapy is difficult to get in English but was once translated to deutsch as Realitätstherapie. Neue Wege der Psychotherapie, but is also out of print... Next Culture Press has some work to do!) by William Glasser. Harper Collins. A central book for understanding Possibility Management's approach to taking radical responsibility for choosing, one of the three powers of a human being. Also be sure to read Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse. Conscious Parenting (in deutsch Spirituelle Erziehung. Hilfreiche Ratschläge, ''Praktische Weisheit) by Lee Lozowick. The book explodes with examples applying spiritual principles to every day life in practical detail. Warning: Significant Box expansion. ''Creating (Next Culture Press will be publishing Creating in German) by Robert Fritz. This is a central volume in the Possibility Management study books. Robert Fritz delivers many powerful and clarifying distinctions about responsibility, creating, and stepping into a life that truly matters to you. The Diamond Age (in deutsch Diamond Age) by Neal Stephenson. The friendly John Percival Hackworth is a nanotechnician who just finished developing a "book", A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, which is actually an interactive-supercomputer designed to teach a young girl to think for herself in a stifling society. It performs its functions perfectly. Unfortunately Hackworth loses the book, and it falls into the hands of a street urchin whose Box expands to the point of changing the face of Shanghai. As a parallel project, I am coding Possibility Management into a picture language (making a pictionary) to be loaded into the laptops being dropped into village children behind the lines of civilization through One Laptop Per Child www.wiki.laptop.org. Directing the Power of Conscious Feelings (in deutsch Die Kraft des bewussten Fühlens) by Clinton Callahan. This book is full of photographs, thoughtmaps, and initiatory edgework experiments that build matrix to hold more consciuosness. Dune (in deutsch Der Wüstenplanet) by Frank Herbert. In this saga of a young man's initiations, trainers, elders, strangers, witches and his lover deliver many Possibility Management distinctions. There are several films made based on the Dune series, but none of them come close to this opening volume by Frank Herbert. Ecotopia (in deutsch Ein Weg nach Ökotopia) by Ernest Callenbach. The setting is the early 21st century. Ecotopia is a new country made out of what used to be Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. It has been independent for several decades. At last, an official visitor from New York is admitted: Will Weston, top investigative reporter. Like a modern Gulliver, Weston is sometimes horrified sometimes impressed despite himself, and sometimes touched by the strange practices he encounters - which include ritual war games, collective ownership and operation of farms and factories, and an attention to trees and reforestation which borders on tree-worship. Ender´s Game (in deutsch Enders Spiel) by Orson Scott Card. The best book on team leadership and the function of practice I have ever found. (Also read Orson Scott Card's Treason if you can get it.) In 2013 a film based on the Ender's Game books was released. The pictures are pretty exciting but the film fails to capture the energy and teambuilding spirit delivered by the book. The Essence Of Parenting (not avaible in deutsch? Next Culture Press is at the ready!) by Anne Johnson and Vic Goodman. This is an extensively explained invitation to an excellent context for child raising. Finite and Infinite Game''s: a vision of life as play and possibility'' (in deutsch Endliche und unendliche Spiele: Die Chancen des Lebens) by Joseph P. Carse. There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other, infinite. Finite games are the familiar contests of everyday life; they are played in order to be won, which is when they end. But infinite games are more mysterious. Their object is not winning, but ensuring the continuation of play. The rules may change, the boundaries may change, even the participants may change—as long as the game is never allowed to come to an end. This is a key book for understanding how Possibility Management works. Getting Real (not in deutsch yet) by Lee Lozowick, Hohm Press, Prescott, Arizona, 2007. If you want to read a spiritual book that Clinton Callahan recommends, you can start with this one. (After that read In The Fire.) Gifts Of Unknown Things (in deutsch ) or Lifetide or Lightning Bird ''by Lyall Watson. Or read all three. ''Gifts ''and ''Lifetide ''expand your Box about what is possible for human beings. ''Lightning Bird is the story of an archeologist in Africa who becomes as a man of 30,000 years ago to find the secrets others failed to find. I can't tell if any if the above three books are in German yet, but I did find Dark Nature: a natural history of evil in deutsch Die Nachtseite des Lebens. Eine Naturgeschichte des Bösen, which is also a superb example of Lyall Watson's deeply curious intelligence, and helpful in your underworld work. The Great Growing Up: being responsible for humanity's future by John Renesch (not in deutsch yet). The Gaian Road Team got to interview John in his San Francisco apartment in 2013. His book addresses an urgent collective choice: to opt for responsible adulthood over the largely adolescent ways we have been relating to one another and our planet Earth. The choice is accomplished through a change of thinking that supports a paradigm shift - from adolescent self-centeredness to adult responsibility for all life forms. Anyone willing to genuinely "grow up” can make this necessary choice. Ever-increasing numbers of individuals today are already growing in consciousness and are training themselves to take on leadership roles in bringing about the first conscious evolution of our species. This represents a mostly invisible global movement of historic proportions. John's book invites anyone concerned with humanity's future to participate in this new thinking. High Noon: 20 Global Problems, 20 Years to Solve Them (in deutsch Countdown für eine bessere Welt: Lösungen für 20 globale Probleme) by J. F. Rischard, Basic Books Inc. published in 2002. Taking responsible action depends on your level of clarity about what’s really going on as well as on the number of real options you can choose from. This book is so full of clarity and reasonable options that it completely changed my life focus when I read it in 2007 when there were already only 15 years left to solve the 20 problems. Now there are a mere 8 years remaining. If J.F.s asessments are even close to being accurate, you and I have front row seats to global collapse. Did you ever sit in front row seats at Sea World when the Killer Whale jumps? We are about to get splashed with more than a bit of cold salty water. Impro (not in deutsch yet, but there is this: Theaterspiele: Spontaneität, Improvisation und Theatersport) by Keith Johnstone. Here is a small handbook just overflowing with amazing distinctions and exercises for building improvisational theater skills. He also opens the univers of conscious status transactions and what can be accessed in trance theater. In Search Of The Miraculous (in deutsch Auf der Suche nach dem Wunderbaren) by P. D. Ouspensky. This thick book opened the door for me to find all the information we study about holding and navigating space. It is about taking radical responsibility for things we never thought could be taken responsibility for. Peter Ouspensky was a student of G. I . Gurdjieff, a teacher from Eastern Europe who taught about "The Fourth Way - the way of the sly man" mostly in Paris and died in 1949. It is worth wrestling this book to its end. In the Fire (not in deutsch yet) by Lee Lozowick. The book to read after you read Getting Real. Ishmael (in deutsch Ismael) by Daniel Quinn. An adventure for the mind and the spirit. Daniel Quinn said, "Something better than civilization is waiting for us." He knows what he is talking about. Island (in deutsch Eiland) by Aldous Huxley. This is one of the 4 next culture community books I recommend to people, along with Ecotopia ''by Ernest Callenbach, ''The Kin Of Ata Are Waiting For You by Dorothy Bryant, and Watch The North Wind Rise by Robert Graves. The Jump Into Life (not in deutsch yet) by Arnaud Desjardins. This book describes what happens when you truly understand and therefore cannot help but live from the context generated by that little phrase on the Map of Possibility: “Everything is neutral.” The Kin Of Ata Are Waiting For You (in deutsch Die Insel der Ata) by Dorothy Bryant. An excellent story about encountering a working community. Highly recommended. Leadership and Self Deception (in deutsch Raus aus der Box! Über den Umgang mit der Selbsttäuschung) by the Arbinger Institute. Here you will find a procedure for taking radical responsibility, starting with yourself. The Life Of Milarepa (not in deutsch yet) by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa. Milarepa's teacher Marpa eventually sent him to sit in a cave high up in the Tibetan Himilayas. If you go to that cave now you can stand in there and find a place where Milarepa left a message for all to see about what he learned about reality. There is a handprint melted into the solid rock made by Milarepa's hand during meditation. Manhood (in deutsch Männer auf der Suche: Sieben Schritte zur Befreiung) by Steve Biddulph. I am saddened to say that I have found no book that satisfies me with regards to addressing modern patriarchal empire indoctrinated males about becoming initiated men. Steve Biddulph's is the best I have so far found. Most men's literature is steeped in the Freudian Jungian psycholanalytical context of modern culture which tends to leave out 3 bodies altogether. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (in deutsch Männer sind anders. Frauen auch. Männer sind vom Mars. Frauen von der Venus.) by John Grey. Although our work with feelings is more sophisticated and complete, the basic man/woman information in this book is solid. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (in deutsch Der Mond ist eine herbe Geliebte) by Robert A. Heinlein. This is the story of a core group of people (and one computer) organizing independence from an oppressive corporatocracy. Sound familiar? For an inspiring story of teamwork between two couples read The Number of the Beast (in deutsch Die Zahl des Tiers). Mount Analogue (in deutsch Der Analog. Ein nicht-euklidischer, im symbolischen Verstand authentischer alpinistischer Abeneeuerroman) by René Daumal (1952). Here is an amazing archetypal story about the initiatory path of discovery, evolution, and group work. Mr. Daumal died half-way through writing this short book from a long illness. René's inspired wife provides notes at the back of the book about where he would have taken the remainder of the story. The notes are like finding pieces of a treasure map. Occupy World Street (in deutsch Occupy World Street - Roadmap für den radikalen Wandel) by Ross Jackson. (www.occupyworldstreet.org) This is the book the Pirate Translation Team transformed into German without previous permission and because it was already translated got it published in German with Hirzel Verlag. In addition to giving an accurate assessment of current eco-political reality on Earth, Ross also gives us a pathway to establish a Gaian League of Nations operating around a set us sustainable values. Of Water and The Spirit (in deutsch Vom Geist Afrikas) by Malidoma Patrice Somé. This is one of the most amazingly clear and mind-blowing reports of African initiatory process from the Dagara tribe in Burkina Faso. Open Space Technology (in deutsch Open Space Technology: Ein Leitfaden für die Praxis) by Harrison Owen. A user handbook for a powerful and fun nonlinear meeting technology that uses creative sanctuary and parallel play. Original Wisdom (in deutsch Das Lächeln der Senoi: was es bedeutet ein Mensch zu sein) by Robert Wolff. This is the only book in which I had a tacit understanding and experience about what is lost when modern culture extinguishes indigenous and original intelligence. "Seeing" is a resource that guaranteed us a sustainable culture for over 40.000 years. I've written emails back and forth with Robert over the past years. He is in the process of dying, having lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for many years. Take a look at his website. He is very personal there. www.wildwolff.com Parent Effectiveness Training by Thomas Gordon. The source of some of our favorit PM thoughtmaps. A must-read book. For more see www.gordontraining.com. Perfect Love Imperfect Relationships (not in deutsch yet) by John Welwood. Many exercise, total clarity. The man knows what he is talking about. Radiant Joy Brilliant Love (in deutsch Wahre Liebe im Alltag) by Clinton Callahan. The most recent and complete information about relationship and communication, about being a man or a woman, and about the crucial rite of passage into adulthood. Radical Honesty (deutsch Radikal Ehrlich) by Brad Blanton. Straight. Funny. Touching. Encouraging. Transformative. You can do it, but only if you try. Marion and I met with Brad in Stockholm, Sweden, in December 2013. He wanted to meet us. We wanted to meet him. It was a good meeting. How do we know? We will be publishing some of Brad's books in German through Next Culture Press, starting with Radical Parenting. Radical Parenting (not in deutsch yet - in process by Next Culture Press) by Brad Blanton. Brad is not presenting himself in a good light in this book. That is the book's value. It's honest. The writing is based on Brad's personal experiences, including his shadow side. The book is thorough because over the years Brad has had so many clients for psychotherapy who have repeated over and over again the same family breakdown symptoms, that Brad's ideas and shared skills drill directly to the source. A useful read. Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, and Long Life Honey In The Heart (Secrets is in deutsch Die Geheimnisse des Jaguars. Eine Entdeckungsreise in die Welt der Maya, but Long Life Honey In The Heart is not) by Martín Prechtel. Secrets is an intimate and heart-rending retelling of Martín Prechtel becoming trained and serving as a Mayan shaman. Honey is an intimate and heart-rending retelling of Martín Prechtel becoming trained and serving as the head of his Mayan village initiators. Both stories occurred at the same time in Martín's life, making the whole thing both believable and awe inspiring. Both stories relate to the ordeals and exertions involved in becoming a functional Possibility Manager and especially a Possibility Trainer. These are required reading... Self Observation: the awakening of conscience - an owner's manual (not in deutsch yet) by Red Hawk. The author is a personal friend of mine (Clinton Callahan), fellow student of Lee Lozowick, and a lover and practitioner of Gurdjieffian self-observation. (See the book In Search of the Miraculous by P. D. Ouspensky for other teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff.) In Possibility Management we do Possibility Management self-observation. But since there is almost nothing out there in print about the critical skills and practices of neutral self-observation, and since self-observation forms the basis essentially all further practices in Possibility Management, this is an amazing book to read (and thin, too). Shogun (in deutsch Shogun) by James Clavell. An historical fiction relaying the value of traveling to cultures very different from your own and cultivating an attitude of, "Oh, interesting, how does this go here? How do you say that? I never thought of this before! Can I try that?" with lots of time spent listening and observing yourself and getting off your own culture's beliefs and superstitutions. The lesson is a practice of simply being in the awesome presence of life in a gameworld very different from your own, and then finding ways to relate and connect. It could be how your destiny unfolds! Star Maker (in deutsch Der Sternenschöpfer) by Olaf Stapledon. (Also read Odd John.) Star Maker is a remarkable book about very wide perspectives over time and space, and searching for what is really going on. Teaching As A Subversive Activity (this may be it in deutsch: Fragen und Lernen. Die Schule als kritische Anstalt) by and Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner. This is a great book about taking responsibility for your own education. Thief of Time (in deutsch Der Zeitdieb) by Terry Pratchett. Time is a resource. Everyone knows it has to be managed. And on Discworld (this is Terry Pratchett's twenty-sixth Discworld Novel!!! There are 45 million Discworld Novels sold.) managing time is the job of the Monks of History, who store time and pump it from the places where it’s wasted (like underwater — how much time does a codfish need?) to places like cities where there’s never enough time. But the construction of the world’s first truly accurate clock starts a race against time for Lu Tze (The Sweeper - their equivalent of a Possibility Manager) and his apprentice Lobsang Ludd. Because the clock will stop time. And that will only be the start of everyone’s problems. This is my favorite Terry Pratchett book. Veronica Decides To Die (in deutsch Veronika beschließt zu sterben) by Paulo Coelho. Life reveals a secret vitality once you free yourself from concepts about life. Watch The North Wind Rise (in deutsch Sieben Tage Milch und Honig) by Robert Graves. This book is also sometimes sold under the title Seven Days In New Crete. In all titles it is out of print. This is Robert Graves' telling about a poet who is abducted into a post-civilization future a thousand years from now. Clocks, money and machinery have disappeared. Paper is rejected because of the evils of bureaucracy. Magicians are important and so are rituals, handicrafts and love. The people have adopted the principle, "Nothing without love." Everyone worships a Mother Goddess, and life is local and personal. Villages war against each other in dramatic fashion - but only on Tuesdays, and no one gets hurt. Graves' story has history, reality and a stunning inner logic. "WATCH THE NORTH WIND RISE is a book so rich in style and plot, so profoundly mythic and at the same time so lightly comic, that there is simply no way to communicate its full flavor." (The Washington Post) It is one of the four books I recommend about next-culture community, along with The Kin Of Ata Are Waiting For You by Dorothy Bryant, Island by Aldous Huxley, and Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach. When Things Fall Apart (in deutsch Wenn alles zusammenbricht: Hilfestellung für schwierige Zeiten) by Pema Chödrön. Constructive thoughts from a woman with years of ruthless self-honesty and vigilant introspection. Wild Thinking (in deutsch Abenteuer Denken: 52 Abenteuerreisen zu größeren Möglichkeiten) by Clinton Callahan. In our modern culture mind is at war with our imagination. Mind has won. It is possible for you to retrieve your imagination but only by exerting personal efforts, efforts that are not already described by modern culture. The efforts require particular new ways of thinking exercised consistently over a long period of time. Wild Thinking is a path for that effort. For your convenience it is divided into 137 SPARKs (and counting!) which you can receive for free one after another in an emailed newsletter every 3 weeks when you subscribe online at Next Culture Research & Training Center www.ncrtc.eu. Each SPARK (Specific Practical Applications of Radical Knowledge) begins with a concentrated distinction that is unfolded into adventurous edgework experiments creating greater possibilities for you. Winning Through Enlightenment by Ron Smothermon, M.D. This book is very near to being a handbook of ideas and models that we are learning and applying in Possibility Management. Some of his ideas do not match ours, and some of our ideas are more developed than his, particularly about feelings and archetypal initiations, plus we have tools, maps and technologies that he does not mention in the book. But overall, this is one of the closest books to directly supporting our work. Again I want to warn you to be careful to continue to use and develop the language of Possibility Management while at the same time being able to use these understandings. Find out how to say what he means in our language rather than speaking about Possibility Management in his language. The Wizard Of Earthsea (in deutsch Der Magier der Erdsee) by Ursula K. LeGuinn. An initiatory journey of Ged, an young magician's apprentice, to face and conquer (if he can) the dark forces he set forth on the planet of Earthsea. There are four books in this series. They are all good, although, as usual, the first is best. There is also a film by the same name and it is pretty good, too. But read the books first, and then the condensed story in the film will make more sense.